The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by central government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online.

Ren Jianyu after his release from a labor re-education camp. (Reuters)

Central Propaganda Department: In the near future, the media are to produce neither positive nor negative reporting on Chongqing except for Xinhua wire copy. (December 20, 2012)
中宣部：近期除新华社通稿外，各媒体不作关于重庆的正面或负面相关报道。
Central Propaganda Department: Ren Jianyu‘s court case will soon be heard in Chongqing. Except for low-key coverage using Xinhua wire copy, no media are to produce any other reports or commentary. Do not send reporters to Chongqing. (December 20, 2012)
中宣部：近日，任建宇案将在重庆开庭审理，除采用新华社通稿并低调处理外，各媒体不作其他任何报道评论，不派记者去重庆采访.
Chinese journalists and bloggers often refer to those instructions as “Directives from the Ministry of Truth.” CDT has collected the selections we translate here from a variety of sources and has checked them against official Chinese media reports to confirm their implementation.
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The original publication date is noted after the directives; the date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source. ... « Back to Article